


Caught in the Middle

by paranoidangel



Category: The House of Eliott
Genre: Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-01-26
Updated: 2014-01-26
Packaged: 2018-01-10 03:25:09
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 585
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1154200
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/paranoidangel/pseuds/paranoidangel
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Post series 3. Caught up in Bea and Evie's quarrel, Jack tries to get them to make up.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Caught in the Middle

"Bea..."

Bea slammed the door just as Jack approached the threshold, shutting herself and Lucy in the nursery and leaving him outside. He took a couple of deep breaths, reminded himself that it wasn't him she was upset with, and opened the door.

Inside, Bea was rocking Lucy, who looked happy, as she tried to pull a fistful of Bea's jacket into her mouth. Although Bea was the picture of calm as she gazed down at her daughter, Jack could see the tears in her eyes.

He was beside them in a couple of strides and put his arms round both his girls. Bea had at least got over his perceived slight and leaned her head against his shoulder. "She'll come round," he assured her. You know what Evie is like. She's hot-headed and stubborn."

She sighed. "I know."

He thought that if he could cheer her up she might be more willing to at least speak to her sister. "On the bright side, at least you get to keep her here in London."

She side-stepped away, out of from his embrace. "Maybe I don't want her to stay."

He sighed, reflecting that sometimes Bea could be just as hot-headed and stubborn as her younger sister.

* * *

"What do you want?" It was the most confrontational Evie had ever been with him, but it didn't put Jack off. He couldn't let it, for all their sakes.

"Just to talk to you." He tried to look as non-threatening as possible, but honestly, when had he ever been threatening? Certainly not with Evie, of all people.

She glared at him, but let go of the door to walk back inside the flat. He took that as an invitation to enter. "You just want to convince me that Bea's right." She turned to face him, arms folded. "Because you always take her side."

He shook his head. It was hardly as if he and Bea had a history of agreeing with each other. "Maybe she's right, maybe you are. I don't care."

She frowned. "Then why are you here?"

"Because Bea's unhappy and so are you." Out of the corner of his eye he saw Daniel in the kitchen doorway. He said nothing, but Jack hoped he had the same concern for Evie. "I just want the two of you to find a way to put this quarrel behind you, so you can be friends again."

Evie's jaw tightened. "We'll never be friends."

Jack looked over at Daniel with a pleading expression.

"I haven't known Bea and Evie as long as you have," Daniel said, coming into the room to stand beside Evie. "Do they often fight?"

Jack chuckled, remembering back to the times when he'd seen one or both of them in tears over a disagreement. "They're sisters and they're both stubborn. Of course they fight."

"I'm not backing down." Evie took a step away from Daniel with the same fierce expression on her face as she'd had at that board meeting.

"I'm not asking you to." He knew that wasn't going to get him anywhere.

She stared at a picture on the wall for a moment before saying, "I'll think about it."

Jack smiled, knowing that was the best he was going to get. "That's all I ask." It wouldn't be as easy that, he knew, but the Eliott sisters were too close to go without talking to each other for too long. If they were at least speaking it would be the first step towards agreeing.


End file.
